Thanks to increased coverage of pro tour events on YouTube, CBS Sports, and ESPN2, the profile of disk golf is rising. Also known as frisbee golf, it is currently the fourth fastest growing …
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Thanks to increased coverage of pro tour events on YouTube, CBS Sports, and ESPN2, the profile of disk golf is rising. Also known as frisbee golf, it is currently the fourth fastest growing sport in the US. And the people of Wellman want in.
They’ve been in, kind of. There has been a disk golf course in Wellman’s North Park since 2005, but it’s been in decline. The website UDisc commented, “This course is not marked well and incomplete. There are only 7 baskets and each are in bad shape. The holes are very open.”
“At one point in time, somebody had sent me something about the worst course,” Wellman City Administrator Kelly Litwiller said. “They had a bunch of courses, and then the most unfinished courses. And Wellman was one of those because ours had just faded away. They were like, I think you need to get back on this.”
In the last few months, Litwiller has been on it. Jacob Lampe, son of retired Recreations Manager Teresa Lampe, helped design the course and source the baskets. Travis Hartley, Building Maintenance Superintendent, worked alongside a local contractor to install the baskets and pour cement for the pads. Course signage will be installed next.
The 9-hole course circles the entirety of North Park. Much like traditional golf, one plays by throwing a disk from the tee pad to the basket. One picks up the disk where it lands to throw again, aiming to complete the hole with the lowest number of throws. Courses usually contain 9 or 18 holes.
Also like traditional golf, there are a variety of disk types one can throw, including drivers, mid-rangers, and putters. One’s choice depends on speed and distance, and the thrower’s strength and control.
The City of Wellman paid for the course redesign with local option sales tax funds, and residents are already teeing up.
“There are lots of people that are using it already,” Litwiller said. “We’ve had several council members actually, and some other some other people in the community have called or said something to council members about how great it is. And they’ve been playing it with their families.”
